Stimulus impact will be delayed: White House

WASHINGTON: Senior White House adviser David Axelrod said the recession in the US is ���gaining momentum��� and it will take time for the $787 billion stimulus legislation passed by Congress to take effect.

The economy would be in ���much worse shape��� over the coming year without the combination of tax cuts and spending in the bill, Axelrod said on the ���Fox News Sunday��� program. The effects of the legislation are ���going to take time to show up��� in growth and jobless rate figures.

���There will be signs of activity very quickly,��� Axelrod said. Still, he said the administration doesn���t expect growth to pick up steam until the second half of the year.

President Barack Obama will sign the newly-passed $787 billion economic stimulus package on Tuesday in Denver, Colorado, officials said. The measure, aimed at combating the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, marks Obama���s first major victory in Congress, less than a month after taking office. Obama said: ���I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done.���

Included with the legislation were limits on executive pay and bonuses at companies receiving federal bailouts.

Some of the provisions go beyond the $500,000 cap announced by Obama last month, by restricting bonuses for senior executives and the next 20 highest-compensated employees at companies that receive more than $500 million from the Treasury Department���s Troubled Asset Relief Program. It limits bonuses and other incentive pay at companies on a sliding scale according to how much federal aid they receive.

Axelrod said the administration will work with Congress to ���come up with an appropriate approach��� on the issue.